New York: National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) has predicted in a report that approximately 80 percent of Americans will choose cremation of their loved ones after death, instead of burial by 2035.
In 1877, the first cremation company was opened in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA, and its creator and operator were heavily criticized by the Catholic Church at that time.
According to data from the Cremation Association of America, from 1876 to 1970, only 5 percent of Americans chose cremation. However, in 2020, more than 56 percent of Americans chose this method due to the increasing costs of funerals and burials in the United States.
All these costs vary from state to state. According to the World Population Survey, families spend an average of more than US$8,000 on funerals in the US.
In the state of Mississippi, this cost is about six and a half thousand dollars, while in the state of Hawaii; this cost is a little less than $15,000. While in New York these costs can go up to 10 thousand dollars. If this cost is compared with cremation, then it costs 1000 to 2000 dollars.
An element of the trend toward cremation is that there has been a decline in people’s connections with religious institutions. As a result, people are moving away from cemeteries. In 2021, only 47 percent of Americans went to places of worship such as Churches or mosques compared to the 1999 figure.
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